Grandmother who killed one-month-old baby by sitting on her gets two years probation

Involuntary manslaughter: Elane Springs after she was given two years probation for accidentally smothering her granddaughter

A grandmother who smothered her granddaughter by accidentally sitting on her has been sentenced to two years probation.

Elane Springs, 50, from Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of children in the death of one-month-old Tyjahe Springs on 17 September, 2008.

Springs had put the baby to bed on the couch at 10.20pm and used a pillow to keep her from falling off.

She then left her there while she did some housework, according to court documents.

When she grew tired from housework, she sat down on the couch for several hours.

At about 3am, she got up to use the bathroom and realised she had been sitting on the baby.

The 50-year-old tried to revive Tyjahe by removing her clothes and patting her with a damp cloth.

Neglect: Elane Springs' attorney Wendy Willams, left, said the baby could have died before the accused sat on her

Realising the baby was dead, she dressed her in a long-sleeve T-shirt and placed her in a car seat on a table. She then stripped the pillow cases from the cushions and washed them before calling her son an hour later and leaving a message.

The message, which asked the son to tell his sister, the baby's mother, that the one-month-old was dead, was not received by her son until three hours later, during which time Springs did not call 911.

The baby's mother arrived four hours after Springs first got up from the couch and called 911 but the baby was already dead.

The medical examiner ruled the cause of Tyjahe's death was asphyxiation due to smothering and said it was an accident.

Neglect: The 50-year-old sat with the dead baby for four hours without calling 911, washing the pillow cases and changing the baby's clothes.

Defence attorney Wendy Williams said: 'Based on what we know about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, she could have sat down and the child could have already passed and that's why she didn't know.'

Springs was sentenced to two years probation, said Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney's office.

A charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed.

Police said her charges came almost two years after the baby's death because the district attorney's office was investigating.

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Grandmother who killed one-month-old baby by sitting on her gets two years probation